The Marvellous Accident
by Elvenqueen Sarah
Summary: Written pre-release of HBP. They say it's the quiet ones you shouldn't push to anger and all of Hogwarts discovers this is certainly true where Neville is concerned. (A little fun fic that shows the lighter side of life)


**Author's Note: **This is the 8th Harry Potter fanfic I wrote and was just a lighthearted bit of fun I wrote before the release of HBP as I thought Harry would need some humour before his world crashed about him again (how little did I know how large that crash would be!)

Neville was also one of my favourite characters and I had great hopes for his potential. :)

I have written 11 stories in total for Harry Potter throughout the years and am only now posting them for the first time online. I hope you will enjoy reading them.

**The Marvellous Accident**

"**Events of great consequence often spring from trifling circumstances." – Livy**

The Gryffindor Common Room was almost deserted, as most of the students were outside enjoying the last of the clear autumn sunshine.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were seated around a table in the far corner of the room. Hermione was making Harry and Ron do their Herbology homework before they went outside.

'I know you two, you'll leave it to the last minute and then stay up past midnight trying to finish it,' Hermione had said to them firmly.

Their homework was a two-foot long essay on the side effects of touching a Nosgilren Leaf Plant without protection. Harry had done one foot and a half; Ron, however, was barely up to a foot.

"I can't remember,' he complained after Hermione had pointed this out to him, 'do people turn green or blue before they start sprouting leaves?'

Hermione gave a sign of exasperation.

'Neither. They turn a deep mauve colour before they become delusional and disorientated.'

'Thanks, Hermione.' Ron scribbled this down and then looked up expectantly at her. 'Well?'

'Well, what?'

'What happens next?'

Hermione gave him a disgusted look. 'Ron, for the last time, I am not doing your homework for you. If you don't know what the answer is, go and look it up in the library, like I do.'

Ron gave a snort. 'Yeah right, me looking up something in the library, that's a laugh.' He looked at Hermione again. 'Come on, Hermione, please. Just a few more facts that I can extend on?'

Before Hermione could explode, Harry looked up. His face had changed since last year. It was more serious, and there were traces of sadness and pain in his green eyes almost constantly. Looking at Ron he said, quietly, 'Neville said we could borrow his copy of Magical Flora if we wanted. He said it's got all the information we need in it.'

'Where is it?' Ron cried, his face brightening.

'In the top drawer of his bedside table.'

Ron, with a triumphant look at Hermione, ran from the room. Harry and Hermione could hear him pounding up the stone steps to the boys' dormitories.

Hermione looked at Harry, who looked back at her.

'Did you do that to help him, or to shut him up?' Hermione asked, her eyebrows raised.

'Both,' Harry replied, his mouth twitching.

Hermione started to grin, and reached out a hand and picked up his essay, saying, 'since you did both Ron and I a favour, I'll check what you've done so far, just to make sure you've got it right.'

Harry smiled. 'Thanks, Hermione.' Sitting back, he closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them quickly at Hermione's chuckle.

'What? What is it?' he asked anxiously, staring at the sheaf of parchment in Hermione's hands.

'Now I know why you've filled so much parchment, Harry,' Hermione laughed and, showing him his essay, she pointed to the numerous illustrations he had drawn of the side effects of touching a Nosgilren Leaf Plant.

Harry smiled ruefully. Before he could say anything, Ron came bounding into the room, carrying Neville's book over his head gleefully.

'Here it is,' he yelled, and sitting down at the table, he picked up his quill and was about to continue when he saw what Hermione was holding.

'Hey,' he cried indignantly. 'How come you're helping Harry?'

'I'm not helping Harry, strictly speaking,' Hermione said composedly. 'I am merely checking his work to see if he has done it properly.'

'I consider that helping,' said Ron, 'and if you help him, you have to help me.'

Before Hermione could reply, the Common Room door opened, and Neville ran into the room.

'Harry!' he cried, his face flushed from running, 'you have to help me.' He came to a stop next to the table, panting rapidly.

'What's wrong, Neville?' Harry asked, jumping to his feet; and seeing Neville begin to tremble he pulled out a seat and forced him into it.

'What is it?' he asked.

Hermione and Ron were both looking from Neville to Harry, concerned expressions on their faces.

'I-I-!' Neville gulped and took a deep breath. 'I just ran into Malfoy.'

'Is that all?!' Ron exclaimed, his expression changing.

'No,' cried Neville, 'I-he-!'

'Neville, suppose you start from the beginning and tell us what happened,' Harry and Hermione said together.

Neville swallowed, then nodded. Taking a deep breath, he began:

'I was coming down the corridor near the library – I wanted to get out a book on Charms – anyway, Malfoy came round a corner and started – well, you know what he's like.' Neville looked at the three faces turned towards him. All three nodded. Out of all the students at Hogwarts, they were Malfoy's favourite targets.

'Well then,' Neville continued, 'he started to say things about my parents,' Neville's voice had gone quiet, 'and then he started to insult your parents, Harry.' Neville looked at Harry whose face tightened. 'He kept on insulting them, and I got really angry when he didn't stop, so I-I-!'

He paused, and swallowed.

'What, Neville?' Harry asked.

'I pointed my wand at him, and somehow I changed him into a – a chair.'

There was a long silence in the room, and then,

'HA!'

Neville looked at the three people who were now laughing so hard, tears were pouring down their cheeks.

'Well done, Neville,' cried Ron, clapping him on the shoulder. Hermione and Harry were clutching their sides, gasping to get their breath.

'Oh, Neville,' gasped Hermione, 'I'm so proud of you.'

'I always said you were worth a dozen of him,' Harry panted.

Neville stared at them, his face still worried.

'But I could get in trouble,' he said, his voice shaking. 'I could get expelled for doing something like this.'

'Oh no, you won't.' Hermione, trying to control her laughter now, was still letting an occasional giggle escape her. 'We'll all just go to McGonall, tell her what happened, and she can undo it.'

Neville whitened at Hermione's words. 'Not McGonagall, she'll – she'll skin me alive.'

'No, she won't,' said Harry, his laughter a bit quieter now. 'She'll understand, come on.' Taking hold of Neville's arm, he pulled him out of his chair, and walked him to the door, Ron and Hermione following. Pushing open the door, the four stepped out and set off towards the teachers' room.

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'What are you doing here, Potter?' McGonagall looked at Harry, and then at the other three. 'What's going on?'

'Professor, Neville has something to tell you.' Harry pushed Neville forwards, and smiled encouragingly.

Behind her, Harry could see a few teachers, including Snape and Sprout, looking around McGonagall to see who was with him.

Neville, after taking a deep, tremulous breath, began to tell McGonagall, in a quavering voice, what he had done.

As he finished, he looked up into McGonagall's face. She had a hand over her mouth, and her body was trembling. 'Where is he, Mr Longbottom?' Her voice was muffled.

'He's still near the library, Professor,' Neville whispered.

McGonagall nodded, and turning her back on them, she called into the room, 'Madame Pomfrey, could you please join us.'

Madame Pomfrey came towards the group.

Snape's eyes narrowed.

'Madame Pomfrey, I feel that you may be needed in a moment. One of the Slytherin students has met with a slight accident.'

Madame Pomfrey nodded, and prepared to follow McGonagall out of the room, just as Snape strode forwards.

'If a student from my house is injured, Professor, I think I should be there with them,' he said curtly.

McGonagall looked at him, and then nodded. Turning, she looked down at Neville, her expression unreadable, and said, 'lead the way, Mr Longbottom.'

Neville turned around and, shaking like a leaf, led the way to the library corridor.

Upon reaching the corridor Neville stopped, his face wearing an expression of horror. Pointing, he indicated a chair that now had a large Slytherin student sitting on it, with another standing nearby.

'That's him,' Neville said, his voice shaking.

McGonagall, looking over, let out a gasp. Harry, turning his head quickly, saw her put her hand over her mouth again.

'Thank you, Mr Longbottom.' McGonagall's voice was shaking with some suppressed emotion that none of the others could identify.

Striding forwards, McGonagall said briskly, 'Goyle, isn't it? Well, you'd better get up young man, before you damage your friend further.'

Goyle looked up at her stupidly.

Snape had a frown of confusion on his face, and Madame Pomfrey was glancing from McGonagall to Goyle and back again. The other student, Crabbe, was staring at them all, his face bewildered.

'Get up, boy,' barked McGonagall.

Goyle leapt up, and pulling out her wand, McGonagall made a brisk swishing movement, and the next instant, Malfoy was crumpled up on the floor, and looking very dishevelled.

Madame Pomfrey, after a startled moment, walked towards him.

'Well, let's get you up to the hospital wing boy.' She turned to Snape, whose face had tightened. 'Professor Snape, if you would be kind enough to help me.'

Without a glance at the others, Snape strode over and, picking up one of Malfoy's arms, lifted him to his feet. Turning, he and Madame Pomfrey led Malfoy along the corridor with Crabbe and Goyle, still staring stupidly, following them.

As they disappeared around a corner, McGonagall turned to face the four Gryffindors.

'Well, Mr Longbottom,' McGonagall's face was expressionless, but her voice was trembling again, 'I must say, I am surprised at you. As you know, using magic in corridors is against the rules, so for punishment,' she paused, and Neville held his breath, 'I am taking ten points from Gryffindor.'

Neville nodded, at least he wasn't expelled. His head jerked up when McGonagall continued, 'however, in regard to your transfiguration spell,' here her voice had a definite tremble to it, and Harry saw for the first time the sides of her mouth twitching, 'I am going to,' (Neville tensed), 'award you thirty points for a perfect example of transfiguration. Well done.' Smiling, she looked down at Neville, whose mouth was hanging open.

Turning to them all, McGonagall said, 'Now, I think the four of you should go outside and enjoy the rest of this lovely day.'

Nodding dumbly, they turned around and walked down the corridor.

As they turned the corner, they heard the unmistakable sound of laughter.

Freezing on the spot, they all turned and looked at each other incredulously, then, walking quietly to the corner, they peeped around.

McGonagall, the strictest and most severe disciplinarian in the school, was leaning against the wall, holding her sides and crying with laughter.

As they watched in amazement, McGonagall said, between gasps, 'and he has trouble with the simplest transfiguration spells, and then manages to do this. It must have been an accident, but a brilliant one all the same. Oh, how Albus will love this.' Turning, she walked unsteadily, still chuckling, in the opposite direction.

The four Gryffindors stood in shock. Turning to face each other, they stared at one another in disbelief. Suddenly, Hermione started giggling.

'Did you see their faces? Crabbe and Goyle's?' she asked.

Harry and Ron slowly smiled, and began laughing with her. Neville looked at the three of them, and suddenly his own mouth twitched. In a second all four were laughing, the sounds ringing through the empty corridor.

'Wait 'til I tell Fred and George,' Ron gasped. 'Boy, will they be sorry to have missed it.'

Still chuckling, the four proceeded to follow McGonagall's instructions, and left the castle, where they then set about to tell everyone they could see, what Neville had done to Malfoy.

Soon, every person at Hogwarts had heard about it, and Neville, for the first time in his life, was treated like a hero by all the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.

It was also noticed by the students, that many of the teachers took pleasure in repeating this story. McGonagall was overheard by a group of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff third years, describing to Professors Flitwick and Sprout, in exact detail, what Malfoy had looked like as a chair, and the fact that Neville had done the spell perfectly.

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That evening, in the Gryffindor Common Room, Neville was surrounded by a crowd of admiring students, telling his story for about the hundredth time. By the time the first few students drifted off to bed it was past eleven o'clock, and gradually the other students began to leave, until only Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were left.

Neville, who was still grinning, looked at the other three.

'Well, I'm off to bed. Are you two coming?'

Ron was about to nod, when Harry said, 'No, we've still got to finish our homework for Sprout.'

Neville nodded and turned to go.

'Neville, just so as you know, I ended up borrowing your book,' Ron said.

Neville turned his head and looked at him. 'That's all right Ron, anytime you need it, just take it,' and turning, he left the room.

Returning to the table where their homework was still laid out, Harry and Ron set about to finish their essays. Hermione watched them for a moment and then gave a sigh.

'All right, I'll stay too, and make sure you get it right.'

Harry and Ron both looked up in relief. They'd been hoping she'd do that.

'But,' Hermione continued, taking her seat next to Harry again, 'this is the last time I'll do this for you. You've got to start checking your work yourselves.' She looked first at Ron and then at Harry, both had looks of horror on their faces.

'Well, I can't always check your work for you, can I?' and looking down she picked up New Theory of Numerology which Harry had given her for Christmas last year, and began to read.

Harry, after staring at her for a few seconds, turned and looked at Ron, who stared back.

Suddenly they both grinned.

Hermione, they knew, would always help them, no matter what she said. She wouldn't be able to help herself, plus, they all knew she would miss not being able to point out their mistakes, and then proceed to correct them.

Picking up their quills, they each gave a silent chuckle. Whether she knew or not, both Harry and Ron knew her too well to take her threats seriously.

**DISCLAIMER**: I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS MENTIONED IN THIS STORY. THEY BY RIGHT BELONG TO **J.K. ROWLING**, CREATOR OF THE HARRY POTTER SERIES. THE SITUATIONS MENTIONED, HOWEVER, ARE MY OWN IDEAS. I AM NOT MAKING ANY PROFIT OUT OF THIS STORY.


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